Consumer Choice must be maintained as ‘Kin’ a respected player in the genealogy market, announce business closure

Finders, the international probate genealogy firm, today warned of the need to preserve consumer choice when employing the services of professional probate genealogists. This follows the closure of Kin, a respected player in the market, due to difficult business conditions.

Finders specialises in helping clients – lawyers, trustees, executors or administrators and personal representatives – through the often formidable task of identifying and tracing heirs and locating missing or unknown beneficiaries. Like Finders, Kin has emphasised the importance ensuring consumers can receive a bespoke service which best suits their needs when utilising the services of heir hunters.

Finders is particularly concerned about the use of open-ended time-based charging by some firms, where consumers are charged on an hourly basis for heir hunting services – these fees are payable regardless of the outcome of the search. This means that there is a risk that the entire value of an estate could be swallowed up in fees.

Commenting, Daniel Curran, Finders’ Managing Director said:

“The closure of Kin highlights how quickly choice can be undermined in this market.

“It also redoubles the need to ensure that consumers are aware of the risks associated with time based fees. Choice of fee option is vital to a healthy and competitive market.

“Contingency fee arrangements are currently the most popular fee option, as the genealogist’s fees are not charged to the estate, whether or not a missing beneficiary is located. They are also by their nature proportionate.

“Other fee options such as time based charging can carry significant financial risk for the consumer. Furthermore, if contingency fee agreements were not available, there would be cases where a difficult search for a missing heir is simply not undertaken, and others where the estate of known heirs is used up in fees paid for searching for missing heirs. This would restrict consumer choice and ultimately the consumer would suffer.

“We believe that probate genealogist should allow consumers to be in the driving seat when it comes to fee options. A good firm of probate genealogists will be keen to find the best fit for the consumer and will be able to discuss a variety of fee options and costing methods.

“The overwhelming majority of the probate genealogy market offers contingency fees as one of a range of payment options, reflecting consumer demand for a choice of affordable options.”

Daniel is a leading figure in the UK Heir Hunting industry. He is from Isleworth in West London and has lived in London for most of his life. He has been in the probate genealogy profession since 1990. He formed Finders in 1997 after 7 years at another firm.

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Probate Property Sales & Services
We offer to manage a property for the estate administrator or client including handling all the legal work, searches, and the sale of the property. This saves considerable time, effort, and expense and minimises risk by using a tried, trusted, and compliant network.

UK Missing Asset Service
Our new and improved UK asset search draws together all the resources that can currently be checked for unclaimed or missing assets and will help you check for funds that may have been overlooked or deposited in accounts that have been forgotten.

Missing Will Service
If you are dealing with an Intestacy but need to check for a Will, or you hold a Will and are unsure if a more recent Will was made, Finders can help with our thorough and inexpensive, insurance approved Will searches.

Overseas Bankruptcy Searches
Before making distribution of estate funds to beneficiaries, it is strongly advised to run an international and domestic bankruptcy search against each heir in line to inherit for the protection of the Personal Representatives. Overseas cases are not always straightforward, and this is where Finders International takes over the reins and provides you with the best practices and specialists in this area.

International Asset Service
Our International Asset Service provides consultative and practical support to private clients and Wills and probate practitioners. We offer a variety of services to help deal with the existence of foreign assets, including helping to sell, transfer or recover a range of overseas assets including shares, bank accounts, and investment portfolios, assisting estates with the necessary administrative and legal paperwork.

Insurance (including missing bene cover)
Finders are the longest standing provider of AVIVA online policies and can arrange Missing Beneficiary Insurance, Missing Will Insurance, and comfort policies. We have a convenient ‘self-approval’ arrangement with AVIVA and can arrange policies without delay. Once our report is completed, we can apply for and obtain draft policies for your consideration instantly.

Distribution schedule preparation

Once the final estate value has been established we will be happy to prepare a distribution schedule outlining the monies due to each of the heirs

We wish to ensure all of our business and beneficiary clients that Finders International remains open and you should see no loss of continuity in the level of service and support received.

The health and wellbeing of our staff and members of the public remains at the forefront of our planning and we have responded to government updates and fully implemented all relevant government advice. Social distancing obligations have been relayed to all staff and representatives and are being observed in accordance with government advice. The vast majority of our team are now working remotely with complete access to our bespoke computer systems thanks to innovative systems created over the years and in line with emergency procedures. These systems continue to adhere to data protection legislation and all clients should remain confident we continue to safeguard their information accordingly.

Our telephone lines remain open 24-hours a day, 7 days a week at +44 (0)20 7490 4935 and any general queries can be emailed on [email protected]

UK Probate Research Awards 2019 & 2020

Finders International were proud recipients of awards at the 2019 and 2020 ceremonies, including ‘Best UK Probate Research Firm’.

Finders International is proud to have been accredited as a Living Wage Employer and are committed to this voluntary standard for all our UK staff. We recognise the importance of being a responsible employer.

A unique nine-digit sequence recognised as the universal standard for identifying over 240 million businesses worldwide. Recognised, recommended and/or required by more than 50 global, industry and trade associations, including the United Nations, the U.S. Federal Government, the Australian Government and the European Commission. Finders DUNS Number: 23-502-1651

NEWA is an independent directory of quality expert witnesses from a range of professions. Both our Managing Director Daniel Curran and Deputy Managing Director Simonne Llewellyn are registered as experts.

ICO is the UK’s independent authority set up to uphold, promote and enforce the information rights of the public under the Data Protection Act 2018 (and GDPR). Our data protection registration number is Z6654345.

We are proud to be the first probate research firm to become Friends Against Scams. Our industry became well known through the BBC TV series Heir Hunters and Finders wish to remain vigilant and responsible in proving their credentials is backed by their commitment to Friends Against Scams.

We have been vetted and approved by local government Trading Standards and are a Primary Authority Partner. You can find our partnership information by going to the government website at https://primary-authority.beis.gov.uk/par and searching for Finders.

We are the first probate research company to become an approved Corporate Affiliate Member of the CTSI. Membership is for businesses who support and promote CTSI’s aims and values. It is for those who want to help their customers and staff by providing the information they need and promote good business practices.

Finders International are certified in ISO 9001 which sets out the criteria for a quality management system and demonstrates our commitment to providing continual improvement of our customer’s requirements.

Public Sector Development Managers

Dave worked in several diverse local authorities undertaking the statutory role of providing funerals under the Public Health Act. He was responsible for registering deaths, making funeral arrangements, liaising with next of kin and all other duties falling into this sphere. Working in social care, Dave was also responsible for acting as deputy under the Mental Capacity Act for people who lacked the capacity to manage their own financial affairs. Having taken redundancy from his last local authority due to an internal restructuring following cost cutting measures, Dave started working with Finders International in May 2017 developing their business with local authorities. Please feel free to call at 07753306885 or contact him at [email protected]

Elaine Ridley has recently joined Finders International as Public Sector Development Manager, having extensive experience of working for and managing public services.

Formerly employed by a local authority as Coroner’s Service Manager, she has 14 years’ experience. While working in Ireland, she also trained and subsequently volunteered with Cruse Bereavement Care, providing bereavement support for six years.

Prior to this post, Elaine was the Family Liaison in a large physical and mental health NHS Foundation Trust. Providing a consistently high standard of support to families, carers and service users through Serious Incident or Complaint Investigations, she also developed training and presented locally and nationally on the importance of engaging effectively with families.

As with all Finders International Public Sector staff, Elaine is here to help, advise and support the work of hard pressed Bereavement Services Officers at NHS Trusts, Coroners and Local Authorities. Please feel free to call at 07498 322139 or contact her at [email protected].